Kellie Pickler is a talkative gal, but on Tuesday night, when she was crowned champ on Dancing with the Stars, the American Idol alum found herself shocked into silence. Now that she finally has regained the ability to speak, what does the season sixteen victor have to say about her big win?

While some critics have complained about the lack of drama on the latest season of Dancing with the Stars, it’s impossible to deny that the cast was graced with some amazing dancers! And with the four most talented of the bunch (Kellie Pickler, Zendaya Coleman, Aly Raisman and Jacoby Jones) all featured in the finale, the contest really was anyone’s to win. This might explain why, despite endless predictions of her impending victory, Kellie Pickler found herself shocked into silence when Tom Bergeron announced her victory.

After the finale, when Kellie was able to get her mouth moving again, she explained her sense of surprise to Us Weekly. “I’m overwhelmed with joy…Usually I’m just spitting out words left and right, and now I don’t know what to say.”

Kellie added that, although she was glad to have snagged the mirror ball trophy, she would have been perfectly happy going home empty-handed. She feels that the bigger prize is having had the opportunity to develop friendships with the rest of the cast and learn all about dancing from the incredible Derek Hough. “We’ve made so many memories out here on this dance floor and in the studio. We’ve all worked so hard to be here, and it’s just overwhelming. But in a great way.”

Were you happy to see Kellie Pickler win the mirror ball trophy? Leave a comment and let us know!